GAME NOTES: A pair of last place teams get together on Saturday evening at
Commonwealth Stadium, as the Edmonton Eskimos host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
in a crossover divisional clash.

Edmonton, the only team in the league still winless at home (0-5), has bowed
in all six matchups against other squads from the West Division, so perhaps
this weekend the Eskimos will take advantage of the situation. A distant
fourth in the standings with just a single victory in 10 opportunities this
season, Edmonton has dropped eight consecutive outings since registering a
30-20 win over Hamilton back on July 7.

Most recently, the Esks were pitted against Calgary on Sept. 6 and suffered a
22-12 setback at home, the second time in a span of just four days that the
two teams battled. Quarterback Mike Reilly tried to keep hope alive for
Edmonton last week, but while converting 16-of-26 passes for 194 yards, the
signal caller was also sacked seven times. The only major of the meeting came
on a one-yard run by John White in the second quarter.

As for the Blue Bombers, they've been only slightly better than Edmonton to
this point in the campaign, winning a grand total of two games.

Last in the East Division with just four points, four behind Montreal after 10
games, the Bombers were also riding a lengthy losing streak heading into Week
11 action, yet somehow the team caught lightning in a bottle and slipped by
Saskatchewan at home, 25-13.

Just like Reilly, quarterback Justin Goltz was also under a lot of pressure in
the pocket for the Bombers, converting a total of just eight pass attempts for
129 yards and an interception. Along the way Goltz was also sacked seven times
by the Roughriders.

Winnipeg didn't earn a single first down through the first 30 minutes of
action last Sunday versus Saskatchewan, yet the team remained in contention
thanks to Will Ford who returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score in the first
quarter. For his efforts. Ford was named the CFL Special Teams Player of the
Week.

Perhaps sensing that the season was already lost, despite the upset win,
Winnipeg made a bold move on Monday, trading away former starter Buck Pierce
to the BC Lions in exchange for Canadian receiver Akeem Foster. Winnipeg's
acting GM, Kyle Walters, explained the move as an effort to bolster the team's
receiving corps after having trouble keeping key performers healthy.

Trading key skills players in the CFL is nothing new, but doing so in the
middle of a season might be seen as a bit unorthodox. Pierce, who actually
began his career with the Lions out of New Mexico State, is someone who has
never really set the league on fire with his passing and too often exposed
himself to vicious hits outside of the pocket, which in turn made it tough to
keep him healthy from week to week.

Now with Pierce gone, the active quarterbacks on the Winnipeg roster includes
Goltz, Max Hall and Jason Boltus.

When you consider the Bombers have the worst passing attack in the league
after 10 games, producing a woeful five aerial TDs against 15 interceptions,
perhaps trying to wipe the slate clean and play for the future was the only
way to go.

While the quarterback position in Winnipeg continues to be a fluid situation,
Reilly still has the tag of starter for Edmonton, even though he has a
quarterback efficiency rating of 91.2 based on his 60.5 percent accuracy and
having thrown a league-high 10 interceptions.

Although he has caught a total of just four passes the last two games, after
combining for 14 grabs, 283 yards and three touchdowns in the matchups against
Toronto and Saskatchewan in the middle of August, Fred Stamps remains not only
the primary target for Reilly and the passing attack, but the leading receiver
in the league overall with 765 yards and seven majors stemming from his 40
catches.

Edmonton, which owns a 92-80-3 advantage in the all-time series between the
clubs, dating back to 1938 and taking into account only regular-season
meetings, will travel to Winnipeg six days after this encounter to complete
the home-and-home series.

Winnipeg's willingness to let go of Pierce can be seen in a number of ways,
perhaps most obviously being a message to all Bombers players that anyone and
everyone is expendable. Hopefully the message gets through and Winnipeg can
land in the win column in back-to-back weeks for the first time this season.